Stern in the News: April 2011

— April 30, 2011

In April, NYU Stern generated more than 450 media hits. Stern faculty were featured for their research and perspectives on a variety of subjects including pricing psychology, methods of creative thinking, CEO compensation and the relationship between blogging and productivity in a number of prominent outlets such as the BBC, The Economist,The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, in 33 op-eds, Stern faculty discussed the sustainability of China’s economy, Kate Middleton’s fashion influence, one percent tax rates for the rich and survival lessons for CEOs.

Professor Aswath Damodaran’s book, The Little Book of Valuation, was reviewed. Data collected by Professor Damodaranwas used to estimate US equity risk premiums on iStockAnalyst.com. His research on companies’ effective income tax rates was highlighted in CFO Magazine, and his research showing that stocks with low price-to-earnings multiples outperform stocks with high P/E was referenced in twoMotleyFool pieces.

CBS MoneyWatch: “Spend Less Money: Three New Behavioral Tricks” April 27, 2011

Professor Priya Raghubir’s research, showing people tend to spend less when using cash versus credit, was highlighted.

Nobel Laureate Professor Michael Spence was highlighted for receiving the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics. His economic concept of “signaling,” using tactics to purposefully convey information about yourself to others, was featured on The Baker Orange.

The Times of India: “Kris, Kamath Top Contenders for Infosys Chairman Post” April 21, 2011

Professor Marti Subrahmanyam was highlighted as a member of Infosys Technologies’s board of directors.

The Z-score, developed by Professor Edward Altman to measure the probability of bankruptcy, was used to determine the 20 retailers with the highest bankruptcy risk, with additional pick-up on TheStreet.com. The metric was also used to predict the probability of bankruptcy for Barnes and Noble on TheStreet.com.

Professor Evan Polman’s research on how to improve creative thinking was featured. His research on the effect of anger on decision making was also featured in Politics & Government Week.

Investment Weekly News: “Financial Economics; Studies from New York University Provide New Data on Financial Economics” April 16, 2011

Professor Robert Whitelaw’s research investigating the significance of extreme positive returns in the cross-sectional pricing of stocks was featured.

Bloomberg:“Top Business Books, From ‘Civilization’ to ‘Ugly Beauty’” April 15, 2011

Professors Viral Acharya, Matthew Richardson, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh and Lawrence White's new book, Guaranteed to Fail, was highlighted as one of the top business books of the year. The book was also featured in Barron’s and Investment Weekly News. Professor Whitediscussed the book in interviews on Businessmatters.net, Marketplace Radio and Market Wrap with Moe.

The Economist: “On Cyprus, Intervention, Political Dynasties, the State, Companies as People” April 14, 2011

Professor William Baumol’s theory, “Baumol’s cost disease,” was featured in a commentary on the growing costs of health care and pensions. His book, Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism, was referenced on World Politics Review.

A paper by Professor Nicholas Economides on the economics of network neutrality was featured in the Technobabble blog, with additional pick-up on YubaNet.com. His nomination for a Gabby Award in education was highlighted in Greek Reporter.

Professor Amity Shlaes’s book, The Forgotten Man, was featured, with additional pick-up by four other outlets. Sheparticipated in the development of a blueprint for accelerated US economic growth at a George W. Bush Institute conference in April, reported CNBC.com, with additional pick-up on Yahoo! Finance and four other outlets. She was also cited as an economic historian who would add value to the RNC-sponsored 2012 presidential nominee debates in the Washington Examiner.

CNNMoney.com: “What You Need to Know About Active Fund Managers” April 8, 2011

Professor Antti Petajisto’s research, finding that truly actively managed funds outperform those managed funds that adhere to a benchmark index, was highlighted, with additional pick-up in the Financial Times.

NewsBusters.org: “Corporate Spending on Perks ‘Egregious’? What About the Feds?” April 7, 2011

Professor Xavier Gabaix’s research, which attributes the increase of CEO compensation to market capitalization, was highlighted.

Professor David Yermack’s commentary on Kate Middleton's style influence, in relation to his research on the financial impact of Michelle Obama’s fashion choices, was featured, with additional pick-up in the Financial Times and El Cronista Comercial.

Professors Priya Raghubir, Vicki Morwitz and Amitav Chakravarti’s research on time perception, finding that a journey to a destination seems longer than the journey home, was referenced.

Faculty Speaking Engagements

Associated Press: “Metro New York – Day Schedule” April 20, 2011

Professors Viral Acharya, Matthew Richardson and Lawrence White’s discussion of their new book, Guaranteed to Fail, co-authored with Professor Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, at NYU Stern on April 20, was featured.

The Times: “Business: The Week Ahead” April 14, 2011

Professor Nouriel Roubini spoke at the European Association for Investors in Non-listed Real Estate Funds in April. He also spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference on May 1-4, as referenced in RealClearPolitics.com.

WallStreetPit.com: “How Has the Financial System Changed? (And What to Do About It)” April 13, 2011

Professor Viral Acharya was highlighted for his presentation at the Atlanta Fed’s annual Financial Markets Conference on April 5, in which he argued that greater capital buffers would help stabilize the financial system.

Vice Chairman of NYU Trustees and Chairman of the NYU Stern Board of Overseers William Berkley (BS '66) joined a panel of insurance executives to discuss the pressures of a soft commercial market. He was featured for his ongoing support of NYU in Observer Philanthropy.

Professor Al Lieberman was featured as the “Media Mentor of the Year” in a multi-story feature on NYU Stern’s Entertainment, Media and Technology Program. The feature also highlighted Professor Lieberman and Professor Samuel Craig’s work on ProMotion Pictures, a program developed by alumni Jeffrey Grossman (MBA '04) and Russ Axelrod (MBA '05) as a collaboration between NYU Stern and Tisch Kanbar, and comments from Dean Peter Henry and MBA/MFA students Heather Jack, Claire Harlam and Ryan Heller. Additional coverage of Professor Lieberman appeared on NYConvergence.com.

NYU Stern was highlighted for co-hosting an upcoming conference in fall 2011 with the Coalition for Green Capital on the concept of a federal “green capital bank,” with additional pick-up in Energy Washington Week. NYU Stern was also featured in Entrepreneur as a top MBA program for students seeking an education in "green business.”

The TRIUM Global Executive MBA program, a joint program with NYU Stern, London School of Economics and HEC Paris, was featured, with additional pick-up in Le Point and The Times. The program was featured as one of the most innovative global MBA programs in Poets & Quants. Associate Dean of Executive Education Jaki Sitterle commented on the program in ACCION.

NYU Stern was highlighted for co-hosting the New Ventures Global Investor Forum, “Green Opportunities in Tomorrow’s Markets,” on April 6.

Bloomberg: “Henry Kaufman Says US Debt Limit Will Be Extended” April 8, 2011

NYU Life Trustee and Chairman Emeritus of the NYU Stern Board of Overseers Henry Kaufman (PhD ’58) discussed the likelihood that the US debt ceiling would be raised, with additional pick-up in the Washington Post and four other outlets. His views on the future of credit, civility on Wall Street and large financial institutions were featured in Economic Policy Journal, a Financial Times video and three other outlets.His participation in an Economic Club of New York event was referenced on NASDAQ.

The Village Voice: “Sustainable MBA Programs Look To Provide Entrepreneurial Solutions to the World's Social Woes” April 6, 2011

Vice Dean of MBA Programs and Professor Kim Corfman, Professor Jill Kickul and MBA students Jennifer Tsai and Matthew Edmundson were featured in a trend story about MBA programs in social entrepreneurship.

vadvert.co.uk: “Orange Launches International Airtime Hub, an Innovative Airtime Transfer Service for Its Mobile Operators Customers” April 5, 2011

Member of the NYU Stern Executive Board Alexandre Pèbereau (MBA ’91) commented on the airtime transfer service International Airtime Hub.

Entrepreneur: “Friending Facebook to Connect With New Customers” April 4, 2011

NYU Stern Business Plan Competition winner Chris Mirabile (BS ’06) was featured for his social networking site, Hotlist, which he developed with Jamie Briones (BS ’06).

Member of the NYU Stern Executive Board Shelley Greenhaus (MBA ’78) commented on Whippoorwill Associates, Inc.’s acquisition of Windstar Cruises, with additional pick-up by CNBC.com and three other outlets.

Professor Vicki Morwitz described how retailers entice customers through pricing psychology to spend more than they normally would.

The Australian: “Lessons in Global Reform: The US and Europe are Leading in Post-crisis Regulation” April 28, 2011

In an op-ed, Professor Stephen Brown argued that Australia’s regulatory response to the housing crisis falls short of the international benchmarks set by the US and the EU. He commented on stock exchange takeovers in Australian Financial Review.

Professor Ralph Gomory argued that US multinationals in China are seeking short-term profits without considering long-term harm to the US economy. His comments were picked up on CNBC, Chicago Tribune, Dow Jones Wealth Chinese, MarketWatch.com and eight other outlets.

In an op-ed, member of the NYU Stern Executive Board and Professor Richard Bernstein (MBA '87) argued that monetary policies in emerging markets will help curb US inflation. His positive outlook on the US economy was featured on CNBC, The New York Times, USA Today and two other outlets. His comments on the rise in US house sales were cited in the NZ Herald and Reuters.

In an op-ed, Professor Amity Shlaes commented on recent education scandals, with additional pick-up in Bloomberg Businessweek and four other outlets. In threeotherBloomberg op-eds, she wrote about tax reform proposals, the US budget crisis and the correlation between rainfall levels and democracy, with additional pick-up in seven other outlets. She commented on the legacy of President Calvin Coolidge on Marketplace Radio and on technologies available to terrorists in The Orange County Register. Her advice on how the US can help Japan was cited by a columnist in Forbes, and she was recently highlighted as one of Bloomberg’s commentary writers on Bloomberg and The Huffington Post.

In an op-ed, Professor Eric Schoenberg wrote about low tax rates for wealthy Americans. His call for higher taxes on the rich was cited by ABC News, Associated Press, Boston Globe, CNBC, MSNBC, Yahoo! News and 14 other outlets.

Daily Star: “In the Global Economy, a Good Cause Is Worth Some Inefficiency” April 21, 2011

Nobel Laureate Professor Michael Spence and Research Assistant Sandile Hlatshwayo’s Project-Syndicate op-ed on the rising importance of emerging market economies, and their impact on the US “tradable” labor sector, was picked up. Professor Spence commented on the continuation of high unemployment figures on Bloomberg, with additional pick-up in Bloomberg Businessweek, Business Report and SouthCoastToday.com.

In an op-ed, Professors Nicholas Economides and Roy Smith argued that Greece’s economy cannot recover unless its debt is restructured, and they recommended the use of “Brady bonds” to reduce the country's debt load.

In an op-ed, Professor Roy Smith discussed the reshaping of the banking industry since the 1960s. His defense of Berkshire Hathaway’s corporate governance was featured in Bloomberg Businessweek. He commented on Deutsche Bank’s sale of poor quality assets on Bloomberg and Bloomberg Businessweek. He commented on the exodus of proprietary traders in Advanced Trading.

Professor Richard Sylla asserted that Fed policymakers are keeping a close watch on inflation. On Fox Business, he commented on the last floor traders in an age of electronic trading. He recounted the accomplishments of Alexander Hamilton in The Epoch Times.

In an op-ed, Professor Daniel Altman discussed how new Arab governments can improve the region’s economy, with additional pick-up on Zawya.com. Healso participated in a discussion on the future of the US dollar, which was summarized in twopieces on BigThink.com.

Advisor.ca: “Canada’s Bank System Good, But No Role Model” April 12, 2011

Professor Matthew Richardson commented that the Canadian banking system may have escaped the global financial crisis, but it was not immune to a systemic shock.

Professor Lawrence Lenihan calledfor easing the SEC’s securities rules, particularly for small, high-growth companies, with additional pick-up in the New York Post. He explained his investment in SecondMarket Holdings on Bloomberg.

Professor David Poltrack’s announcement of an alternative way for the media to classify viewers based on tastes and attitudes to media, instead of age, was highlighted, with additional pick-up in Big Hollywood, Jewish Journal and National Ledger.

Reuters: “NYU Stern Professors Available for Comment on Epsilon Data Breach and Argue That Data Governance Is the Next C-suite Reputation Management Issue” April 7, 2011

In a media alert, Professors Vasant Dhar and Arun Sundararajan urged CEOs to learn from Epsilon’s data breach and take control of their consumer data. The alert was also picked up by CNBC and the Sun Herald.

Professor Adam Alter explained the use of categorical labels to make sense of our environment.

Express Tribune: “Economic Planning: Government Needs to Take a Back Seat” April 4, 2011

Professor Paul Romer argued that private innovation leads to economic growth, while government planning leads to decline, in a twopart series. He also sat down to an exclusive interview with Zurich Minds to discuss charter cities.

livemint.com: “Are Forex Derivatives Different From a Regulation Perspective?” April 4, 2011

Professor Viral Acharya explained some of the new regulations in the derivatives market.